"Seek the LORD while
He may be found,
Call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
And the unrighteous man his thoughts;
Let him return to the LORD,
And He will have mercy on him;
And to our God,
for He will abundantly pardon."
Isaish 55:6-7
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Hello again, friends. Let's pray together...
"Holy Father God, as we study Your word again today, Lord, I pray that You will be glorified and praised. I pray and thank You for all You have given to us. I thank You for Your abundant pardon to those of us who have returned to You. I thank You for Your mercy You show to us day after day because You are faithful even when we are faithless.
I seek the pardon of my sins this day, Lord. I know that You are a holy God and my sins separate me from You. I pray that You will cleanse me, purify me, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. I pray that You will fill me with Your Holy Spirit this day.
I lift up to You each lady reading this study with her individual needs. I pray that You will walk with her and she will earnestly seek You each morning. I pray that as she reads Your word, You will speak to her heart, convict her of sin, and renew her.
In Jesus' name....amen."
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Obedience by Faith
We have looked at chapter 5 of 1 John in the last 2 lessons in preparation for our expository study verse by verse. Now that you know a little more about this chapter, you can begin to look at the first verses.
Our author, John, is writing this letter to make sure his fellow believers know whom they believe and what it means to be a Christian. Of course, the world has its own definition of what it means to be a Christian....but most importantly we should know what Scripture says a follower of Christ is and is not.
In these last days, we have to understand that our faith will be tested in ways not seen since Christ walked the earth and since Noah built the ark. When Jesus tells us that the last days will be like Noah's time....we have to take that seriously. Man sinned continuously. All his thoughts were wicked continuously. And only Noah and his family were spared.
So, reading this book is most important to Christians. It will leave you with the utmost assurance of your salvation. And it will leave you with the utmost assurance of who is not a Christian.
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1 John 5:1-
"Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him."
The Christ
In the study of the Samaritan Woman I did here at this blog, we read how Jesus revealed Himself as The Christ to this Gentile woman for the first time in His ministry.
Please read:
John 4:21-26
John desires that his readers understand that they must believe that Jesus is The Christ whom he walked with and whom the Scriptures fortell.
Dan 9:25-27
So for a person to be a believer, they must confess (agree) that Jesus is the one and only Christ, or Messiah, mentioned in Scriptures.
Born of God
John 1:13
Then John reminds us that once we agree that Jesus is the Christ foretold in Scriptures, we are then born of God.
Those born of God will love God. Loving God requires obedience to His laws and commands. In this chapter, we will look further into this concept later on, but for now we must remember that there is an inner attribute to those who are Christians: love of God. And there is an outer attribute of Christians: obedience to God.
Without obedience to God's commands, how can we say that we truly belong to Him and love Him?
Love Him who begot
Deut 6:5
In this part of the verse it is as if John is trying to remind us that we love our parents who begot us, but is that enough? Is it enough to merely claim to love God? No, because then John reminds us what the main commandment of God is:
Love Fellow Christians
We learned about love in chapter four, so here is John reminding us once again that we are commanded to love one another as Christ loved: sacrifically.
Gal 1:3-4
Eph 5:1-2
Eph 5:25
Acts 20:28
1 Thess 4:9
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It is not enough for a person to claim to be a Christian simply because they raised their hand in church or signed a card after service and put it in the offering plate.
Just as there are outward symbols and inward symbols of change in all people, it us true of the believer as well. We, as Christians, are not left wondering whether someone we know is a believer or not. There are ways that God Himself provided for us to know for certain if someone truly is born of God or not.
Because He loves us, He gave us this truth in His word. It is this word that separates us from all other religions of the world. Think about it....of the millions of religions out there, only we have the Word of God.
It is that Word of God that guides us, convicts us, and protects us from the false teachings out there. And we know there are so many.
Deut 8:3
Ps119:11
Ps 119:105
Prov 30:5
Is 40:8
Luke 8:11
John 1:14
Phil 2:16
Col 3:16
Heb 4:12
Rev 19:13
For God is His word....so there can be no other.
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Life Application
My prayer for you is that as we complete this book you are seeing a pattern to what John has written. He repeats over and over again the mantra of the Christian:
Love God
Love His word
Love other believers
Obey His commands
This week it was announced that Pres. Bush will give the Medal of Freedom to Donna Shalala, a former member of Pres. Clinton's cabinet. She is hated by many in America for her attempts at destroying Freedom of Speech guaranteed in the Constitution. So, as you can believe, many people are angry at the Pres. for bestowing this honor to this woman.
But I see it as a way for Pres. Bush to heap burning coals onto the heads of his enemies: by being kind to those who hate him.
Luke 6:27
Rom 12:17-21
I firmly believe that this is what Pres. Bush is doing....and in so doing, he is telling other believers that he believes God's Word as truth. He is seeking to do God's will. And he is giving us an example of what to do...obey God.
In the opening verse of today's lesson, it loudly exclaims for believers...or all people....to seek the LORD while He may be found.
As I have often said here on this blog, knowing God is the greatest thing for any living creature. To know and love The One who begot us is paramount to our happiness and survival. And we should be thankful everyday that He provided The Way for us to know Him intimately: through stories, history, poetry, letters, and hymns.
I am amazed at the depth to our God's love for His people. In the midst of this crooked and perverse generation that continually belittles Him and precludes His word from going forth, God still is kind to the wicked and evil.
Luke 6:35-36
We are to obey God, seek Him while He may be found, truly live out His word and commandments for all to see.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
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Until next time....
"Do you love God? Do you love his word, his ordinances, his church, his salvation? We who are born of God, forgiven by God, adopted by God into the divine family, and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, cannot help but love God. Love for God is the first fruit of saving faith."
-Dr. Joel Beeke (The Epistles of John, 2006, p. 176)
Blessings,
Ruth
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